I didn't ask and she didn't say
by brookeljames
Summary: Quinn get stranded in Dallas and runs into Rachel who was also stranded. Based off of the song 'I didn't ask and she didn't say' by Tim McGraw :


She looked up at the screens for the hundredth time in the hour, all flights where still delayed because of the storm so she was stuck in Dallas until it lets up.

"Quinn?" Quinn froze because she'd know that voice anywhere "Hey, how've you been?"

Quinn was still shocked when Rachel wrapped her arms around her neck "Uh..." Quinn breathed, wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist "Rachel, it's good to see you again"

"Yea, you to. What're you doing here?"

"I was on my way back to California but there's a storm so they grounded us here for a while"

"You wanna go get something to eat or something? The planes will probably be grounded for at least another hour"

"Sure" Quinn smiled, nervously wringing her hands together as they walked to the Wendy's.

After ordering both girls took a seat in one of the boots "So, how have you been?"

"Good. How have you been?"

"Fine. How're Santana and Brittany? The last I heard they were in a fight?"

"Yea, that lasted about three months but they're fine now. Moved in together"

"Good, it seems that Santana and Brittany are the only couple that have made it out of high school. Not surprising really"

"How's Finn?" Quinn asked, just saying his name was like a punch in the chest "I heard you guys were back together?"

"No, he came back about two years ago determined that if he just flashed that idiot grin I would fall back into his arms"

"And you didn't?"

Rachel frowned and shook her head "Of course not. Finn was never any good for me. For either of us"

"Yea" Quinn mumbled, her mind wandering back to the time she knew for sure she loved Rachel.

* * *

_**Flash back**_

_They were fourteen and at summer camp in crystal lake, Illinois._

_At first Quinn had dreaded it, she had realized that she felt_ something different_ towards Rachel for a while but she wasn't sure what it meant._

_They're spent the best part of their two week stay together, in the woods, by the lake, even in the lake sometimes._

_It was the night before they left to go back to Lima and Quinn snuck out of the cabin she shared with Santana, Brittany and this girl from Iowa and snuck into Rachel's cabin._

_She lightly shook Rachel, covering her mouth when she noticed the brunette was about to scream "Shh, Rach, it's me"_

_Rachel brought her eyebrow together in an adorable frown "Quinn, what're you doing?"_

_"Let's go out to the lake. It's our last night"_

_"Ok" Rachel whispered, grabbing her hoodie and pulling it over her head "We'll be in so much trouble if we get caught"_

_"We go home tomorrow, who cares" Quinn took a hold of Rachel's hand and navigated them through the dark cabin and out towards the moon lit lake._

_"We aren't going to go back to hating each other when we get back to Lima are we?" Rachel asked we both girls were laid down on the grass, staring up at the stars._

_"No, definitely not" Quinn said lolling her head to the side to look at Rachel "And I never hated you. Ever"_

_Rachel smiled "And I didn't hate you"_

_Quinn nodded, smiling as she turned her attention back to the sky._

_She felt Quinn's eyes burning into the side of her head before the brunette shifted, resting her head on Quinn shoulder and wrapped her arms around her waist._

_Quinn hesitated at first but after a few seconds she wrapped one arm around Rachel's shoulder using the other to pull the blanket over both of them "Are you looking forward to starting high school?"_

_"Not particularly. Are you?"_

_"I guess. It was be different than middle school. Why aren't you looking forwards do it?"_

_"Middle school was bad enough. I have a feeling high school will be worse"_

_"I won't let it be" Quinn mumbled against the top of Rachel's head, running her hands through her hair "I'll protect you this time, stop anyone who tries to hurt you"_

_"And how could you do that?"_

_"I don't know. But I'll do anything, whatever it takes to make sure no one hurts you"_

_"Thank you"_

_"Don't thank me"_

_They'd laid like that all night, taking every so often but most of it was spent in silence. Just staring up at the sky or out at the lake._

_"The suns coming up" Quinn mumbled, looking out towards the sunrise._

_"It's beautiful"_

_"Yea, we'd better get going. Everyone will be waking up soon"_

_"Thank you for this" Rachel said, her eyes following Quinn as she stool up._

_"It was my pleasure, really" Quinn smiled, holding out her hand to help Rachel to her feet._

_"I'll see you later"_

_"Yea, at breakfast"_

_"Yea. Bye" Rachel smiled, pressing her lips against Quinn's cheek before turning and heading up to her cabin._

_Quinn stool there, shocked, as her brought her fingertips up to brush her cheek where Rachel her just kissed. She was almost one hundred percent sure she as in love with Rachel, that_ that_ was the feeling she had every time she saw her._

_Rachel's roommates were awake by the time she got back to the cabin. They assumed Rachel was out with Finn, Rachel denied it but Finn didn't he just shrugged and said nothing which pissed Quinn off so much._

* * *

Quinn's attention was caught by Rachel waving her hand in her face "You were out of it there" the brunette said, smiling adorable at Quinn.

"Sorry, I was just thinking"

"What about?"

Quinn leant her elbows on the table, contemplating whether or not to say something "Nothing really. Why're you here?" Quinn asked wondering if Rachel actually remembered the time at crystals lake, probably not, it was ten years ago after all.

"I was in Mexico on my way back to New York and they grounded us here to"

Quinn nodded, looking down at her food as she began nibbling on her fries again. There was about a five minute silence between them before Rachel smiled a shy smile and looked up at Quinn through her eyelashes.

"This weather really his unreal, huh?"

"Yea, it's horrible" Quinn said, smiling as her mind began to wander again. Back to the ski trip they'd went on with Glee club.

* * *

_**Flash back**_

_They were seventeen and between Quinn's mom and Santana's dads donations they'd raised enough money to go on a weeks ski trip to Jackson Hole in Wyoming._

_It was four to a cabin, each cabin had two separate room and a living room. Quinn and Rachel got pared up with Santana and Brittany, much to their annoyance. Quinn was used to them fooling around at night but Rachel wasn't but their arguments fell on def ears as Schue placed their luggage in the cabin and left._

_"I mean it, you both better keep it fucking down!" Quinn growled, pointing at a grinning Santana, the Latina just slammed the room door in Quinn's face._

_"You should probably invest in ear plugs" Quinn mumbled, sitting down on the sofa next to Rachel who was staring intently at the fire._

_"Do you know how to work this thing?"_

_"It's a fire Rachel. You set fire to it"_

_"I've tried, nothing happens the matches just burn out"_

_"Seriously? You don't know how to work a freaking fire?"_

_"I've never had to use one"_

_Quinn chuckled, picking up some kindling "This is kindling, you put it at the bottom of the fire" Quinn placed three handfuls of kindling into the fireplace_

_"But I always see logs in a fire?"_

_"Those come later, now get that news paper and rip up one of the pages"_

_"This is complicated" Rachel mumbled, grabbing a page of news paper and tearing it up into small pieces._

_"Now you mix this with some kindling and then put this under the grate" Quinn said, putting he news paper in before grabbing three logs and placing them into the fireplace in a design her grandpa had taught her "Do you want to set fire to it?"_

_"How?"_

_"Just strike a match and put it in with the news paper"_

_"That easy, huh?" Rachel said sarcastically as she struck the match._

_"You'll be a pro at it by the end of the trip" Quinn assured, placing some news paper around and on top of the logs._

_"How did you learn to do this?" Rachel asked, lighting the kindling._

_"My Pops had a fire like this and I spent my weekends there as a kid" Quinn pulled her knees up to her chest and began poking lightly at the fire with the poker._

_"You've been able to do this since you were a kid?"_

_"Since I was six and you're how old?" Quinn teased, gaining a smile from Rachel as the brunette sat down next to her._

_"You're the last person I'd expect to be able to do this"_

_"I'll pretend not to be offended"_

_"No, I didn't mean it like that. You just aren't the outdoorsy type"_

_"I go camping every summer with my dad in Banff National park. I know a little something about 'outdoorsy' thing"_

_"I know you do I just couldn't imagine you starting a fire is all"_

_"Well I'm not an arsonist of that's what you're getting at"_

_"Hum, now that you mention it you do look like a bit of an arsonist"_

_"Shh" Quinn shushed, placing her index finger over her mouth._

_"My lips are sealed" Quinn chuckled, resting her chin on her knees and looking at Rachel, she looked ridiculously beautiful in the dim light the fire was giving off._

_Quinn had spent the past three years pining over Rachel. Watching her date Finn and then Jesse and then Finn and for a brief amount of time Puck and then Finn again. It was killing her inside watch how easy it was for Finn to make her giggle or Puck to make her swoon but she had kept her promise she made when they were fourteen, about protecting her, she had waiting for Finn to do something when people started picking on her in Freshman year because Finn was her boyfriend but when he didn't do or say anything Quinn put a stop to it, using her high social statue to her advantage._

_Rachel smiled, her eyes shining as she looked at Quinn._

_Quinn felt like she should do something by the look in Rachel's eyes. Kiss her, hug her, something but before she could think of which their cabin door swung open and a cold ball of snow smacked off of the back of her neck._

_"Puck!" Quinn growled without even needing to turn around. She heard Puck giggle a little to childlike as he closes the door and ran off "Jerk"_

_"Let me.." Rachel reached out to wipe the water and ice off of Quinn's neck but Quinn backed away._

_"No, its fine. I've got it" she said and Rachel looked hurt but Quinn couldn't deal with her in close proximity right now._

_"Are you ok?"_

_"Fine. I'm just going to get changed"_

_"Uh, o-ok will this be ok while you're gone?" Rachel asked, nodding towards the fire_

_"Yea I'll only be a few minutes" Quinn smiled before disappearing into the room and quickly changed from her wet shirt into her pajama top._

_\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

_The second last day before they'd left everyone had went out skiing and snowboarding but Quinn had decided to stay behind, she was to tired, emotionally and physically, to ski or spend time with Rachel so she had just grabbed her book, got the fire started and positioned herself on the floor in front of the fire._

_She was so engrossed in her book that she didn't even notice Rachel was back until the girl fall down on the sofa behind her and whispered into her ear "What you reading?"_

_Quinn blinking, trying to calm her heart rate but not because she'd been giving a fright but because of how close Rachel was to her and she could have sworn she felt Rachel's lips ghost across the shell of her ear "Uh" Quinn breathed and actually had to check the front of the book to remember what she was reading "Tomorrow when the war began"_

_"Are you ok?"_

_"Fine. Just tired, you know?"_

_"Yea, I do"_

_Quinn turned her head, frowning and pulling back slightly when her nose bumped against Rachel "L-lets, uh, go make snow angels?"_

_"Ok"_

_Quinn smiled, throwing her book onto the sofa and grabbing her coat._

_"Why did you come back?" Quinn asked as both girls left the cabin._

_"It wasn't the same without you"_

_Quinn's heart soared at this, she knew it probably didn't mean the same to Rachel as it did to her but that didn't matter. Rachel_ wanted_ to spend time with her._

_"Wasn't Finn there?"_

_"Yea, Santana kicked his board and sent him face first into the snow" Rachel chuckled at the memory as both girls laid down in the snow._

_"I thought this was supposed to be a 'Romantic get away'?"_

_"Finn and romantic just don't go together"_

_"Right?" Quinn chuckled, letting her head fall back against the snow._

_"Did he ever seem distant with you?"_

_"This is Finn we're talking about, is he ever not distant?"_

_"Yea, I guess you're right" Rachel said, getting to her feet and held her hand out to Quinn._

_The blonde reached up and took a hold of Rachel's hand, trying to pull herself up but slipped on a piece of ice and fell back onto the snow, taking Rachel with her._

_Rachel quickly pressed her hands against the snow, stopping her face a few inches from Quinn "Hi"_

_Quinn grinning "Hi" she breathed, running her hand through Rachel's hair._

_"I like your eyes" Rachel said before blushing at how dorky that sounded._

_Quinn chuckled, pushing her hand through Rachel's hair to cup her neck "I like your lips"_

_Rachel grinned, leaning down towards Quinn._

_"What the hell?" a voice said making Rachel push herself away from Quinn to see Finn standing there confused and Puck grinning at them._

_"Finn..."_

_"What's going on?"_

_"I feel like I should say this isn't what it looks like" Rachel mumbled and Quinn almost chuckled. _Almost_._

_"What the fuck is going on?" the tall boy growled, angrily stomping towards Rachel but before he could reach her Quinn was on her feet and had her hand pressed against his chest "Get your hands off of me"_

_"How about you back off before I brake your nose"_

_"This is why you've been so distant and haven't been doing all the dumb stuff you used to, because of Quinn?"_

_Rachel looked a little hurt and Quinn wanted to smack Finn for it but before she could he turned and walked off._

_"Finn!" Rachel called getting to her feet "Sorry I..."_

_"I know"_

_Rachel nodded and took off after Finn leaving Quinn and Puck behind "Maybe next time, eh?" Puck said, wrapping his arms around Quinn who just felt like she wanted to cry._

_"No, there won't be a next time"_

_Puck pulled back and ran his eyes over Quinn's face "In the movies when this happens girls eat ice cream and watch the notebook, there is a video store down in the village, what'd you say?"_

_Quinn chuckled despite the pain in her chest "You're the best girlfriend"_

_"You know it gurlfriend" Puck said in an extremely high voice._

_"Ok, stop"_

_"We could, like, braid each others hair..."_

_"Please stop"_

_"And paint our toenail"_

_"I hate you"_

_Puck laughed, looking down at Quinn "If it's in consolation I think she loves you more than Finn"_

_"She doesn't or else she wouldn't have went after him"_

_"Her going after him could mean anything"_

_"Its Finn and Rachel, Limas power couple"_

_"Personally, I think Rachel and Quinn sounds better. Instead of Finchel it could be Quinchel"_

_"You spend to long to Tumblr dude"_

_"It's taking over my life, Q"_

_\/\/\/\/\/\/_

_Puck had just left and Quinn was perched by the fire, watching the wood pop and crack. She had to give it to Puck, he had tried his downright hardest to comfort Quinn but nothing seemed to work._

_Quinn's ears pricked at the sound of the door opening and she turned to see Rachel standing there awkwardly "Hey"_

_"Hi" Quinn mumbled, turning back to the fire._

_"Im sorry..."_

_"Don't apologize"_

_"But.."_

_"I don't want to hear it Rachel!" Quinn snapped, getting to her feet._

_"Why are you acting like this?"_

_"Like what? Like someone has just completely messed with my head. Well, I'm sorry"_

_"How did I mess with your head?!"_

_"You've been doing it all week! The glances, the smiles, the eye contact!"_

_"Well I'm sorry if I can't help but look at you and it's your fault you make me smile"_

_"Hey!" Santana yelled, from the doorway where she stood in a rob, her hair all over the place "It's pretty hard to get my mac on with you two yelling. Not impossible but I would prefer not to so stop!" the Latina hissed before turning and going back into her room._

_"I'll sleep on the sofa tonight" Quinn whispered._

_"Quinn.." Rachel reached out to take a hold of Quinn's hand but Quinn pulled back._

_"Don't. This was a bad idea anyway, my parents would kill me"_

_Rachel looked down at her feet and nodded, tuning and headed towards the room "FYI I broke up with Finn"_

_"You probably shouldn't have" Quinn mumbled as the brunette left the room._

* * *

"So you live in New York, huh?" Quinn said, bringing her attention back to the girl in front of her.

"Yea, I left a couple of months after you did. There was nothing there for me"

Quinn smiled, glancing down at her food "What do you do?"

"Third year at Juilliard. What're you doing?"

"Third year law at UCLA"

"Law? Wow"

"Yea, kinda figured I'd be good at intimidating people"

"Yea that was always something you excelled at"

"Did they say how long we would be stuck here?"

"Why? You want to get away from me?"

Quinn shook her head and leant her elbows on the table as she sat forward "Not at all"

"I've really missed you"

"I've missed you too. I was in Lima last Christmas, I was kinda hoping I would run into you but apparently your dads went out to New York"

"My dads always come out to New York now. It's better than Lima"

"Anywhere is better than Lima"

"Yea, the place just seemed to go down hill for me after you left"

Quinn grinned, her attention being caught by the intercom announcing her plane was boarding "I'd better..."

"Yea" Rachel mumbled as Quinn stood "I guess I'll see you another time"

"Hopefully" Quinn smiled, turning and walking towards the terminal hoping that Rachel would come after her.

"Quinn!" Quinn smiled, turning to see Rachel standing there with her backpack "You left this"

"Thanks" Quinn smiled, taking a hold of the bag but frowned when Rachel didn't let go "Rach..."

Rachel grinned, pulling on the backpack bringing Quinn towards her and pulling her hand on her cheek "Ten years I've waited to do this" Rachel mumbled, tiptoeing to press her lips against Quinn's.

At first Quinn was shocked but after a few seconds her hand fell to Rachel's waist, pulling the brunette closer.

"I love you" Rachel said into Quinn's ear as she wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her into a hug.

"I love you too" Quinn whispered back, pressing her lips onto Rachel's cheek.

_'Last call for flight 872 to Los Angeles'_

"I've gotta go" Quinn mumbled pulling back enough to look at Rachel.

"You will call me though, right?"

"I don't have your number"

Rachel nodded, reaching over the desk and yanking a pen out of the mans pocket "Hey!"

Rachel ignored him, jotting her number down on the back of Quinn's hand "And don't pull the 'I washed my hands and forgot it was there' line alright?"

"Never" Quinn promised, pressing her lips against Rachel's again "Maybe I'll see you at Christmas or something?"

"Definitely"

"I'll call you when I land and if you're still on the plane I'll leave a message and you call me back, s'that ok?"

Rachel nodded, pecking Quinn on the cheek before stepping back "I love you"

"I love you too" Quinn pulled on her back pack and headed though the gate. They might have been on opposite sides of the country but there was no way Quinn was letting Rachel get away from her again, she would keep in touch with her if it killed her.


End file.
